Like Like
by I am Lu
Summary: One-shot. Have you ever like liked anyone before? Aki/Ruka in a sibling-like light, Yusei x Aki, Ruka x Rally.


Lucarly: I'm doing this for my fellow members on Janime because I am super bored. I'm also procrastinating. . .

Aki: On what?

Lucarly: Well. . .I'm procrastinating on updating my other fics; and that was procrastinating on filling out my AMV requests; and that was procrastinating on-

Aki: -You know what, I don't want to hear it anymore. Lucarly does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

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**Like Like**

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"Aki-san, have you ever liked anyone?" asked Ruka, shuffling her feet uncomfortably as looked up at the older woman sitting on the sofa. Aki furrowed her brows slightly in thought as she turned another page of her book.

"Well, I like you. So, I guess I do like someone," replied Aki plainly, not bothering to look at the girl as whatever she was reading had fascinated her attention. Ruka shook her head.

"No, I meant as in. . ._Like like_," clarified Ruka awkwardly. Aki blinked and remained silent for a moment for setting her book down with a sigh.

"Why do you ask?" inquired Aki, sounding slightly defensive as she folded her arms expectantly. Ruka's cheeks flushed a faint pink as she looked away from the female duelist shyly.

"W-Well, I. . .I. . .I was just wondering. . ." stammered Ruka, let out a tiny cough. Aki paused, considering what she should say; her question seemed innocent enough. And Aki doubted the young girl had the intention of gaining such personal information for match-making purposes. (Rua, on the other hand. . .)

"I have," replied Aki shortly, quickly picking her book back up. Ruka tilted her head to the left slightly.

"Who?"

Aki pursed her lips slightly in annoyance. In truth she had _"like liked" _two people; the first being Divine, her keeper and lone comfort, the second, Yusei, her savior and best friend. Telling Ruka she loved Yusei, however, would mean that she was entrusting the child with a priceless set of keys to her heart, keys that Aki had not been willing to share with anyone other than Yusei himself.

"Divine," replied Aki simply. If she was going to tell Ruka about anyone, it may as well have been Divine, what with him having been dead for several months now. As Aki saw it, it was a safe play with no dangers to her secret feelings involved. Ruka blinked and looked at the ground. Truthfully, she wasn't actually looking for clarification on Aki's love interest, no; there were personal reasons for the young signer. Yet, Ruka had fully expected Aki's answer to be "Yusei", and had hoped it to be so since she had a feeling Yusei was infatuated with her.

"O-Oh. . .Well. . .What did you do?" asked Ruka quietly with a weak smile. Now it was Aki's turn to blush as memories of her less-than-innocent times with Divine flooded back to her. Aki let out an awkward cough before replying.

"We never really had a. . .healthy relationship. It was sort of a friends-with-benefits type of thing." explained Aki without giving her answer a whole lot of thought. Ruka let out an inaudible gasp. She was sure Aki hadn't intended to share such a sexually intimate matter, so she decided to play dumb for the benefit of Aki.

"Friends with benefits?" squeaked Ruka as innocently as she could. Aki's blush deepened as she realized her error before she waved her hand dismissively.

"N-Never mind. Why do you want to know anyway?" asked Aki quickly, hoping to get off the subject as soon as possible. Ruka paused and brought her hands up to lips shyly in thought. The reason was slightly embarrassing to Ruka, as it would be to any 11-year old; However, Ruka didn't want to back out of the situation now since she had already dug herself deep into it.

"I. . .Sort of 'like like' someone," she admitted after a moment. Aki head perked up slightly, the girl's reply having piqued her interest.

"Oh? Now who would that be?" inquired Aki curiously. Ruka averted her gaze from Aki as her cheeks gained more red.

"R-Rally-kun. . ." answered Ruka, fidgeting with the end of her skirt slightly. The older woman stared at Ruka blankly for a moment before she allowed a quiet, low chuckle to pass her lips. She relieved by the fact that Ruka was indeed not looking to draw out the secrets of her tender heart, but rather, find a way to deal with the feelings inside her own.

"I see; and I assume you're looking for my assistance?" asked Aki as one of her rare smiles graced her lips. Ruka nodded.

"I-I've never _like liked _anyone before. . ." said Ruka, her voice trailing off as she locked her eyes on her feet.

"Well, there's always a first," said Aki with a sigh, sitting up straight and crossing her legs. "But, Rally's a good kid. He reminds me of Yusei; which makes sense since Yusei knew Rally when he was very young. I guess that sort of makes Yusei the father-figure."

Ruka blinked and smiled inwardly. Though Aki was only musing, Ruka found it quite interesting how Yusei was the first person she thought of in comparison to Rally; especially since the context of the conversation was taking a romantic lean.

"How does Rally remind you of Yusei?" asked Ruka, hoping to delve a bit deeper into Aki's feelings. The femal twin knew it wasn't her place to do so, but she couldn't resist succumbing to her own curiosity. Aki paused for a brief moment.

"Hm. . .They're both very. . .sweet. And considerate. They both have an unbreakable drive to do good. And they value their friendships very much," said Aki thoughtfully, not noticing the grin slowly spreading across Ruka's face. "In any case, what is it you want me to help you with?"

Ruka's expression went blank for a moment, almost having forgotten her purpose for being there in the first place.

"Oh. . .I. . .Just don't really know what to do. I-I'm not sure if he _like likes _me back, and I don't know how to find out." said Ruka as yet another blush spread across her cheeks. Aki brought her hand up to her lips in thought as she stared up at the ceiling. The older Signer didn't really know either; she hadn't really taken an interest in the opposite sex until she was well into her teens. And that was with Divine, who was her. . .sex partner.

But then, what about Yusei?

Yusei never saw her as a witch, but as a unique woman, a human being. He never doubted in her abilities, and always pulled her back up when she was down. He came to her when she was feeling cold and lonely, yet somehow always managed to respect her space. He never talked bad about her, and didn't keep secrets from her. He handled her carefully, and he had the most gentle touch for those times when he wiped her pained tears away. And then there were those tender moments where he would speak to her in hushed tones, and Aki could swear everytime that he was going to tell her that he loved her too.

"You can tell from how they treat you." replied Aki finally. Ruka blinked, slightly confused by her answer.

"What do you mean?" inquired Ruka. Aki smiled.

"Let me put this simply; you treat someone you _like_ well. But you go above and beyond to treat someone you _like like _well." explained Aki plainly. Ruka paused and considered Aki's answer carefully before finally smiling.

"I see. . .I'll keep that in mind next time I talk to Rally. Thank you, Aki-san," said Ruka politely as she turned away. But before she left, she faced Aki again and gave her a quick wink. "You should keep that in mind too for when you next talk to Yusei."

Aki blushed lightly but quickly regained her composure to reply.

"I shall."

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Lucarly: Hm. I tried to to write something light-hearted that mixed in the ideals of childhood innocence and adulthood. I don't know if I failed or nor.

Aki: You pretty much failed.

Lucarly: . . .Fine. Reviews are love. So if you love me, review. If you don't love me, review anyway.


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